February 6, 2018

I Really Do Have Egg on My Face

By Paul Bieber

I swore the Patriots were going to win. I bragged about before the game. I received many emails about my blog and they were heavily on the point that the Eagles would be the winners.

I want my loyal readers to know that I do know one heck of a lot about glass, and the management of glass businesses; which is more than I do about football. After all, it is just a game. So what if the Eagles go down in history and get a really sharp trophy and a parade that will host millions? It was only a game, anyway. There will be tens of millions of dollars in jerseys and sweatshirts sold in Philly, and more than 300,000 honest Philadelphians will say they were at the game in the future, but it was only a game.

I hereby apologize to all of those who thought my boasting about the Patriots was just drivel. Keep in mind that the boasters are usually beat by the quiet guys. Remember that old turtle and the hare.

Is your glass offense as good as the Eagles in your corner of the glass industry? When you issue a quote, do you have one other person in your office double check every calculation? Do you make sure your foremen know what their daily goals are? And how do you measure them? Do you throw a penalty flag when the goals are not met? How do you react? For you must react or the penalty flag means nothing. Go over and explain the importance of meeting each daily goal. Have the foreman check each day if he has all the tools and supplies ready at 7:00 am. What plans are made for the impact of weather? Have all the materials needed been loaded on the right trucks? Are the men checked before getting on the truck for the appropriate safety gear? Do your men have their appropriate ID’s if going to a secure site? And so on…

This is what makes a championship team, either in the Super Bowl or our glass industry.

Elaine and I live on the side of a mountain in New Hampshire and we have a lot of birds in our backyard and all around us. This morning an Eagle was soaring over our property looking for mice on top of the snow. He had a smile on his face.